A Time To Die

Concerning Predestination and Foreknowledge in general:

Some believe, including myself, that when God says that something shall come to pass, He does not mean that he barely foresees the event (as a mere bystander and observer), but as the Sovereign Maker and Ruler of the Universe; He also immutably [unchangeably] commands the same: for how can God immutably foreknow an uncertainty? I can not find any such example in the Scriptures. Some have used the weak theory that while God, who is infinite in knowledge, knowing all possibilities of events in Time, therefore foreseeing them in His Eternal and Infinite Mind, (which He does) yet He has not (does not) absolutely determine(d) them, only leaving them to an infinite circumstance of chance and fortune. But what is this, but the same old doctrine of Fate that was held by the ancient Stoical Gentiles and Jewish Pharisees; thus the proponents of this doctrine hold that none of the things that God infinitely foresees necessarily come to pass, although He is able to foresee all things (that come to pass.) It seems to me, that this notion only leads one directly into rank Arminianism, allowing God, in concept, to select for Time those events from His Eternal repertoire that only meet with these thinker's acceptance and approval. There is nothing new with God. All things, past, present and future (as creatures apprehend them,) are immediately omnipresent (all, and always) present with God. "..As I have thought, so shall it surely come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.." Here is a Hebrew parallelism; The second expression explains and fortifies the first; Thus, we find another such expression dealing with the sovereignty of God:
"...The Lord has made all things for Himself, even the wicked for the day of evil.."
Here the Preacher,through the Spirit states that God not only made man, including the wicked elements among them, but that He had (has) an express purpose for the wicked, and that would be part of the making up of "The day of evil". The Almighty, All Present, All Knowing God looks to the remotest bounds of Time and sees the intricate details of the most minute element of Creation; and not only so, but His Power even now (then) holds, sustains, controls, and gives this matter it's (future) existence, for there is no past, present or future with the Almighty. "...but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do...." Heb 4:12.

"..The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:.." Isa 14:24. If God thought about anything in time, it will come to pass. If God purposed it, it will surely come to pass. "..Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.." Acts 15:18.

God knew and determined in Eternity What he would forever do, and it shall surely come to pass. "..I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past..." Eccl 3:14.

If the common ideas held about God and His prescience were true, it seems to me that these popular doctrines would flatly contradict the above Scriptures,. Notice what the Scripture says: What God does, is done forever! No change or possibility of change can be made in it.

Did God ordain evil (wickedness, crime, sin, war, famine, pestilence, disease, disappointments, pain, suffering,) and every thing else real or imaginable that may bring joy, gladness, happiness, or on the other hand, pain, death and sorrow to God's creatures to be in the world according to the teaching of the Scriptures? Let the Scriptures answer for themselves: First, I would like to present a "worst case scenario" of suffering, death and shame that has ever been experienced by any man that ever lived in the world, and to show by the Scriptures that this all was absolutely predestinated or predetermined by God. "..Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.." Phil 2:6-8.

"..Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:.." Acts 2:23.

"..They lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done..." Acts 4:25-28. "...Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead... Acts 17:25-32.

Whether one use the word "predestinate", "ordain", "preordain", "predetermine",- all these terms have synomous meanings when referring to God in the Scriptures; In fact, these words do, and can only refer to the Deity, for none except the omnipotent God can ordain anything.

Isa 45:9 "... Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" Rom 11:33 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Rom 11:34 " For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" 1 Cor 2:16 " For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." --And would give support to their doctrine that salvation is based upon conditions (whatever conditions that varying shades of Arminians may use to support their theory), and to be performed at the option and free will of the creature , man; Although we freely admit and readily embrace the concept that God infinitely foresees all (possible) things that could take place --in His Mind - considering the power of God, these events would be , (and are ) infinite ; and yes, they are eternally present before His Infinite Mind; yet He has only determined those events to transpire in Time as those which He determined to include in Time in Eternity. Time must have 'a fullness' according to the Scriptures: ("..when the fullness of time was come...") "(Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world") (Eternity is The 'realm' that He 'inhabits' according to Isaiah); These events are part of His Time Creation, and where else could they take place, except in Time Creation, unless you can conceive of events [of time] taking place in another realm , for then ,they would not be the events of Time, and therefore, the events would be out of their proper or assigned place in Time- which to the human rationale seems impossible, but the things that are impossible with men are still possible with God. The only other realm mentioned in the Scriptures is Eternity, (if it could be called a realm) as just quoted.) --- (Psa 90:2: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God".... Psa 93:2: "Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.") 57:15: "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, " Isa 40:28: "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting (eternal) God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding." Isa 41:4: "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he." Isa 43:10: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour... " Isa 44:6, 8: "

"...I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things..." Isa 45:6-7:

God Himself, as God, being the Creator of Time, is necessarily completely independent of His creature Time, but rules over it at His Sovereign disposal and pleasure in The Person of the Son of God, the second Person in the GodHead--"...But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting......" Micah 5:2: "...Known unto God are all His works from the Beginning of the world..." Acts 3:7. (that is, in eternity, before time) - Acts. and as Martin Luther has said in his book 'The Bondage of the Will', when he says: "..When you (Erasmus) adduce Paul as saying 'His judgments are incomprehensible' ..... whereas Paul does not say , the judgments of the Scripture are incomprehensible, but the judgments of God... " so Isaiah ...does not say, Who has known the mind of the Scripture, but who has "known the mind of the Lord" Although Paul asserts that the mind of the Lord is known to Christians: but it is in those things which are freely given unto us .. 1 Cor 2:10,16."

---But some will say: "I believe that God predestinated all of the good things that transpire in Time, but cannot accept the idea that God has determined all things that take place, for this notion would make God the Author of sin", ...etc.:

"....Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?...Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?..." Rom 9:20-21

"...Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? Job 7:1... And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years..." Gen 6:3.

"...To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace..." Ecc 3:1 - 8

".... And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet..." Mat 24:6.

O. Allen Bailey